FraudNews
11-15-2012, 09:30 AM
Popular VoIP calling program Skype experienced a computer breach that allows any person to change the password of a user’s account, letting them take over it.
Based on the reports, the hack can take place so long as the intruder has a user’s account name and the email address associated with that account. Thus, Skype, which has about 250 million users, has disabled the password reset feature temporarily in order to protect its users.
Skype said they’ve had reports of a new security vulnerability problem, and for that reason, they shut off the reset option to investigate it further.
Skype’s Web Quality Assurance Engineer Leonas Sendrauskas said while they understand the inconvenience, the company is more concerned with user safety and experience. The exploit was seen on a Russian hacker website.
It’s easy to test the security hack, which revealed a user lockout in five steps. According to test results, if you have a well-known email address and use Skype on a regular basis, it’s best to change the address linked to it.
This is just the latest of security problems that Skype has been dealing with since it was acquired by Microsoft last year for $8.5 billion. Regular Skype users have been fronted with numerous modifications to the interface, including linking the Skype and Microsoft’s accounts so users are logged onto both when signing onto the service.
Based on the reports, the hack can take place so long as the intruder has a user’s account name and the email address associated with that account. Thus, Skype, which has about 250 million users, has disabled the password reset feature temporarily in order to protect its users.
Skype said they’ve had reports of a new security vulnerability problem, and for that reason, they shut off the reset option to investigate it further.
Skype’s Web Quality Assurance Engineer Leonas Sendrauskas said while they understand the inconvenience, the company is more concerned with user safety and experience. The exploit was seen on a Russian hacker website.
It’s easy to test the security hack, which revealed a user lockout in five steps. According to test results, if you have a well-known email address and use Skype on a regular basis, it’s best to change the address linked to it.
This is just the latest of security problems that Skype has been dealing with since it was acquired by Microsoft last year for $8.5 billion. Regular Skype users have been fronted with numerous modifications to the interface, including linking the Skype and Microsoft’s accounts so users are logged onto both when signing onto the service.